OTTAWA – Canadian soloist Marie-Pier Boudreau Gagnon wowed the crowd and judges at the German Open with her impressive solo technical routine to finish first overall.
Boudreau Gagnon, a ten-year veteran, was at her best depicting her Amazon warrior themed routine.
Judges rewarded her efforts with a score of 94.600 and Boudreau couldn’t have been happier.
“I am extremely pleased with my performance,” said Boudreau Gagnon, a native of Riviere-du-Loup, QC. “I felt really confident going in and this is the best I’ve ever felt. It’s been a great day overall.”
The routine with its high energy and dynamic tempo is unlike anything anyone else is swimming.
“I think this is a routine she can really identify with,” said Canadian coach Julie Sauve. “She wowed everyone.”
The 26-year-old also swam the Duet Free with Chloe Isaac, of Montreal, QC, and had a second-place finish with a score of 94.600. Their routine, the Dragon, also earned rave reviews.
“Chloe and Marie-Pier beat out the Japanese duet and that’s a huge step forward,” said Canadian coach Julie Sauve. “Canada is really being noticed again. It’s a great feeling.”
Isaac and Boudreau Gagnon have only been swimming together for a short while, but have already developed into a solid duet.
“We have the same objectives and work really well together,” said Isaac. “We’re really happy with the way we swam.”
Isaac, 17, will be swimming the Solo Free Saturday afternoon and is looking forward to competing against seniors for the first time.
“I’m a little nervous, but also a little anxious,” said Isaac. “The routine is quite different and I’m looking forward to swimming against some older competitors.”
Canada’s Tracy Little and Elise Marcotte also finished third in the Duet Technical routine. The Spanish-themed routine earned them a score of 92.500.
The Canadians were recognized for their synchronicity and height and the new pair was thrilled with their performance.
Little, from Montreal, QC, and Marcotte have been together for less than six months, but are already looking like a veteran team.
“We’re good friends and good partners,” said Marcotte, a native of Ancienne Lorette, QC. “We’re happy and the coaches are happy because we know we swam really well.”
In addition to Isaac swimming the Solo Free Canada’s National A Team will also be competing in the Team Technical, Team Free Preliminaries and Combo.
The German Open features 20 countries and wraps up Sunday.
Countries competing at the German Open include Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Spain, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Switzerland, Slovakia and Venezuela.
For a complete list of results please see http://www.synchro.ca/e/events/results.php
Athletes at the German Open
National A Team
Stéphanie Leclair
Stéphanie Durocher
Marie-Lou Morin
Catherine Powell
Gabrielle cardinal
Sandy Gill
Erin Willson
Claire Friesen
Lisa Mikelberg
Alice Rijer
Audrey Houle
Geneviève Bélanger
Jennifer Knobbs
Solo Tech – Marie-Pier Boudreau Gagnon
Solo Free – Chloe Isaac
Duet Free – Marie-Pier Boudreau Gagnon & Chloe Isaac
Duet Tech – Elise Marcotte & Tracy Little
Denise Sauvé- Head Coach
Julie Sauvé - Coach - Solos & Duets
Meng Chen- Assistant Coach
Khadija Cutcher - Apprentice Coach
John Pradier- Physiotherapist
